Texas fires have already burned 400K more acres than in all of 2021. And it’s only July.
Kathy Lanpher doesn’t live in fear.
She could.
After all, her home at Possum Kingdom Lake burned to the ground in April 2011, one of the most destructive wildfire years in Texas, when flames charred thousands of acres all over the state for months.
In fact, Lanpher was living near the lake in August 2011 when she had to escape another wildfire by getting on a boat.
This week, flames and pillars of gray smoke once again soared above Possum Kingdom Lake about 80 miles west of Fort Worth, one of 6,500 wildfires that have ravaged nearly 600,000 acres of Texas so far this year. Relentless, record-breaking heat that has roasted the state since mid-spring, along with a worsening drought crisis, have turned Texas into a tinderbox so bone-dry that one cigarette tossed out a car window could spark a disaster.
And it’s not even August.
The 1148 Fire at Possum Kingdom Lake has burned 500 acres in Palo Pinto County and destroyed several homes, but spared Lanpher’s. To the south, firefighters continue to battle the Chalk Mountain blaze across about 6,300 acres, while new wildfires continued to flare up every day. No injuries have been reported in these fires, but more than two dozen homes and other structures were destroyed.
Fort Worth fire officials have already reported a substantial increase in grassfires this summer compared with the last two years. Between July 5-19, firefighters have responded to 362 fires, a 704% increase from the same two-week period in 2021. The fire department has responded to a total of 607 such fires this summer, with 245 reported between June 1 and July 3.
Fort Worth’s official Fourth of July celebration didn’t last 10 minutes before the fireworks ignited the banks along Trinity River, ending the show.
Happy July 4th I guess? Fort Worth fire/fireworks show wheels have come off. pic.twitter.com/E2krqfnxEZ
— Doc Holliday (@raccoonrocket_) July 5, 2022
Grassfires also have been reported in Southlake, Richland Hills and Haltom City.
Forest service officials and weather forecasters say Texas residents may need to be prepared for wildfires for weeks to come. Hot temperatures, low humidity and the lack of rainfall are likely to plague the state for several months.
According to the latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday, more than 99 percent of Texas is experiencing some level of drought conditions, affecting nearly 30 million people. One-fifth of the state is seeing “exceptional” drought, the most severe level that causes widespread crop losses, parches rangeland, kills trees and lowers the water table. Ranchers worry they will be forced to cull their herds, a blow to Texas’ economy.
Current drought conditions
This map shows the current week's extent of drought conditions in the Dallas - Fort Worth area and across the United States from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Source: National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
All of Tarrant County is under “extreme” drought, the second most severe level, with parts of the county to the southwest now suffering “exceptional” drought.
While Tarrant County and Fort Worth haven’t seen major losses of homes or other property, the potential threat is the highest in years.
“We expect to see wildfires for awhile,” said Erin O’Connor with the Texas A&M Forest Service in College Station.
Meteorologist Allison Prater said there’s a high probability of temperatures remaining above normal for at least three months.
“The dry fuel is ready to go,” said Prater, who is with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.
Fires already above average for year
Just in the past few days, hundreds of firefighters have responded to blazes statewide, including seven strike teams and a hand crew module — which uses tools such as chainsaws and shovels to construct a fireline — deployed through the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System. The force totals more than 115 firefighters, 30 engines, 38 aircraft and four water tenders.
Additionally, land management agencies from 36 states are supporting the firefighting response in Texas with 535 firefighters and 145 pieces of equipment.
Dry vegetation and critical fire weather — record or near-record temperatures, low humidity and wind gusts — have increased wildfire activity in the past few days, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The areas of concern include the eastern Rolling Plains, Cross Timbers, Central Texas and North Texas near the Waco and Dallas-Fort Worth areas.
The risk for significant fires has expanded to include portions of East Texas, including areas near Palestine, Crockett, Huntsville, Tyler and Marshall.
That has especially been the case near Possum Kingdom Lake, where a fire had grown to about 500 acres by Wednesday, and the Chalk Mountain area in Somervell County, where 16 homes have been destroyed.
“The State of Texas remains steadfast in our ongoing coordinated response to help Texans and communities affected by or at risk of wildfires,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release. “As we continue to deploy all available resources in response to widespread fire and drought conditions, Texans are encouraged to remain vigilant and weather-aware to protect themselves and their loved ones from dangerous wildfires.”
This is already not an average year for wildfires in Texas, where fires are typically most active in the hottest part of late summer and early fall as well as in late winter or early spring, when vegetation is dead and dry.
Months of below-average precipitation and above-average temperatures have driven the drought conditions in the state and increased the wildfires. In mid-July, 87 percent of the state was experiencing some level of drought conditions, according to the Texas Water Development Board. That level is now at more than 99 percent.
The governor issued a drought disaster declaration for 189 of Texas’ 254 counties, which have been affected by exceptional drought conditions. There are 214 counties with burn bans.
Texas A&M Forest Service is the state’s primary wildland fire response agency and mobilizes resources to an average of 1,194 wildland incidents a year involving 462,466 acres.
Since Jan. 1, the Forest Service and local fire departments have responded to 6,542 wildfires for 575,128 acres burned across the state. That’s compared with 6,284 wildfires for 168,734 acres burned across the state in all of 2021.
The horrific fire memories of 2011 in Texas are coming back. That year was unprecedented as residents saw some of the largest, most destructive blazes in state history. Four firefighters died in the fires along with six residents. Home destruction reached record-breaking numbers with losses reported on 354 of the 31,453 wildfires that occurred in 2011, adding up to a total of 2,947 homes destroyed and 3,943,770 acres burned, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
These were two 2011 wildfires in Texas that shocked the state:
Possum Kingdom complex fire, April 9, 2011
▪ Palo Pinto, Young and Stephens counties
▪ 126,734 acres
▪ 168 homes destroyed
▪ 1,249 homes saved
▪ Burned for 34 days
▪ Caused by lightning
▪ Eighth largest wildfire in Texas history
Bastrop complex fire, Sept. 4, 2011
▪ Bastrop County
▪ 32,400 acres
▪ 1,660 homes destroyed
▪ 1,091 homes saved
▪ Burned for 37 days
▪ Caused by power lines
Be prepared
For Lanpher, the Possum Kingdom resident, another vicious wildlife season has her anxious.
After her home burned in 2011, Lanpher created an evacuation list on her computer, and she is checking on it these days.
“Every time I see smoke, my heart skips a beat,” Lanpher said. “A big accident could happen again.”
Texans sustaining damage related to wildfires are encouraged to submit damage assessments through the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s self-reporting survey at damage.tdem.texas.gov. Users should select “Wildfire Outbreak” as the active incident.
Texans can visit public.tfswildfires.com to view the current wildfire map, check the latest Texas wildfire snapshot by visiting tfsweb.tamu.edu/CurrentSituation, and follow @AllHazardsTFS on Twitter for the latest fire information. Texans can also visit ready.gov/wildfires for wildfire preparedness tips.
Current North Texas Wildfires
This map shows wildfires that have been updated within the past 7 days from the Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information (IRWIN) and the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The larger the circle, the larger the wildfire by acres. Data is from the US Department of the Interior, Office of Wildland Fire, IRWIN, NIFC, NASA, NOAA and ESRI.
